Sports
Enugu Rewards Players With Scholarships
The Enugu State Government has awarded automatic scholarships up to university level to 30 players of the state that won this year’s national under-13 and under-15 football tournaments at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
The State Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime who announced the scholarship award when the two teams came to Government House to present the trophies said that the gesture was government’s desire to encourage the players for doing the state proud during the tournament.
While praising the players and their handlers for their successful outing, governor Chime restated his government’s commitment to continue encouraging the promotion of sports, especially at the grassroots levels and in schools.
He noted the need to prepare the young ones in all areas of sports as feeders and to replace the old ones when necessary, pointing out that because of the importance government attaches to sports development, some stadia have been developed in the state. He called on stakeholders, philanthropists and sports lovers to complement government’s efforts in sports promotion in the state.
This, he said, they could do by assisting in reviving the schools’ inter-house sports competitions and encouraging inter-club competitions.
Earlier in his speech, the State Director of Sports, Mr. Brendan Ugwoke said that the state under 13 players that competed in the under 13 category of the championship were selected from the state through zonal elimination series at Umuahia.
Mr. Ugwoke further explained that during the zonal elimination competition, Enugu and Imo states emerged victorious to represent the South-East zone at the national stage.
The state’s U-13 team played 16 matches and won all without conceding any goal or drawing at the national level.
According to him, the State U-13 team defeated their Jigawa State counterparts by one goal in the final and scored a total of 41 goals during the competition.
On the other hand, the State’s U-15 team beat their Kaduna State counterparts and the defending champion by 14 goals to 13 in penalty shoot out.
He said that the state team was able to emerge victorious because of the encouragement and support from the state government and the State Sports Council. He thanked the Governor for all the support and encouragement
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.